Leanne Ginty (BScN 1992) grew up in Mississauga and spent her teenage years working part-time at clinics that exposed her to the healthcare system, inspiring her to consider a career in nursing.
As the Senior Director Nursing Education and Academic Affairs, Learning Management and Innovation, Ginty oversees nursing learners and new hires in their transition into independent practice. Her role also focuses on nursing education initiatives such as policy and practice updates and implementations, as well as the development of programs that are focused on nursing recruitment and retention.
Expansion efforts can help keep nurses in the profession
From her perspective, Bloomberg Nursing’s expansion of its BScN program to the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) in the Fall of 2026, will benefit nursing students by giving them options for placements that are closer to home, having a profound effect on attracting and keeping nurses in the profession.
“I see lots of learners coming from outside of Toronto to complete their placements in the city, and that two-hour daily commute can contribute to burnout and fatigue. If we can reduce people’s commute, offer them work life balance by providing opportunities that allow them to work in their own communities – I think that is so valuable,” says Ginty. “It is also motivating to have that connection to your own community. Finding meaning and connection to the work we do contributes to nurse satisfaction and keeping nurses in the profession all together.”
The 30 students who will join the BScN cohort based at UTM each year, will complete their degree requirements on the UTM campus with some simulation learning taking place at the St. George campus. The primary goal, to allow them to study and complete their clinical placements closer to home, is something that Ginty says will also help draw more nurses into the profession, especially when the cost of living in Toronto is so high.
A better resourced health system and more effective clinicians
A long-time resident of Mississauga, Ginty points out that one of the most significant benefits of having BScN students based at the UTM campus, will be having nurses who understand available community resources and supports, an essential component when it comes to discharge planning.
“I think it makes you a more effective clinician being able to navigate the resources and supports available to your patients in the community,” says Ginty, “even just understanding how transportation works in the city, can make a significant difference to how a patient’s care is received.”
A caregiver to her father, Ginty has had her own experience navigating the health system in different communities and the less then seamless integration between them. Following her father’s surgery in a downtown Toronto hospital, she found it challenging to get him to follow-up appointments from Mississauga while he was confined to a wheelchair during his recovery.
“Dealing with transportation – that requires a full-day of planning for someone, and for many, many people, including myself, you end up delaying care because of the challenges involved in accessing it,” says Ginty.
In addition to providing and facilitating education to new hires in the nursing profession, Ginty has also been involved in developing strategies that build resiliency and prevent compassion fatigue. She acknowledges that in this current healthcare context, nurses, can be vulnerable to burnout, therefore, she and her team do what they can to help prevent undue burden on nurses, especially those just starting out. For Ginty, that means the expansion of the BScN degree to the UTM campus is a huge step in the right direction.
“If a new nurse has a connection to the community and is motivated to provide the best compassionate care, that’s a good argument to have access to nursing degree programs within people’s communities,” says Ginty.
Learn more about how you can support future nurses and their education through our Educating Nursing’s Future Fund.